Tank

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT TANK - PAGE 4

POMPANO BEACH -- A liquid propane tank exploded Thursday at the Sea Garden Hotel, injuring one man, knocking out two sliding glass doors, burning away an awning and charring the west side of the building. "Potential for damage was a lot worse than the damage itself," said David Seyse, a spokesman for the Pompano Beach Fire Department. He said Quinten Gjesdahl, a roof repairman, was changing 100-pound propane gas tanks used to fuel a tar pot, when the explosion occurred at 11:10 a.m. "A huge fire ball shot up the side of the hotel," Seyse said, pointing to the blackened building at 600 N. Ocean Blvd.

A bulging chlorine tank that officials feared would explode in a residential neighborhood last month does not meet government specifications and may have been overfilled, according to test results released Thursday. The one-ton tank was unable to withstand 500 pounds of water pressure without bulging further and weighed 200 pounds less than it was supposed to, said City Engineer Marshall Bergacker. Workers at Perry Oceanographics Inc. in Riveria Beach pressurized and filled the tank with water to determine whether it expands.

TAMARAC -- The city`s main water treatment tank is rusting and in need of repair, but work can not be started until a new, $2.15 million tank is built, Utilities Director Robert Foy said. The Broward County Health Department has been urging the city for months to get the old tank painted and repaired, Foy said. "It can come to the point where we can threaten to curtail (water) permits," said Tom Mueller, director of environmental engineering for the county`s health department. "You just don`t want anything going to the point of failing."

A broken valve on an old underground storage tank forced the evacuation of about 40 homes near Tamarac on Tuesday night. The 1,000-gallon tank was located behind a house in the 1900 block of Southwest 68th Avenue. William Paton, fire battalion chief, said a lawn mower or car broke the above-ground valve off the tank, which is owned by Public Gas Co. The tank, no longer in use, contained ethyl mercaptan, a chemical that adds a noticeable smell to natural and propane gas, which normally are odorless.

A liquid propane storage tank that exploded Tuesday, seriously injuring a worker, was corroded, ruptured and not within standards, investigators said on Thursday. The 80-pound tank, which was at least 31 years old, exploded once Wilber Whitlocke began pumping the gas in, officials said. "It was like a bad balloon," Palm Beach County Battalion Chief Nigel Baker said. "There were pieces of the tank all over the place." Whitlocke, 48, who works for AmeriGas, was refilling the tank at a home west of Lake Worth when it exploded, severing his leg. His second leg was later amputated at Delray Medical Center, officials said.

Re the Battle of the Bulge, which began on Dec. 16, 1944: About 9 kilometers above the town of Dinant on the Meuse River, at an intersection of the road, at the forest's edge, sits a small restaurant, fronted by a German Tiger tank. Sixty years ago, three Tiger tanks approached this intersection, the first one blowing up on a mine, while two lonely GIs opened up from the forest with a machine gun, quite useless against those Tigers. Those two were all of the Allied forces between the Germans and the undefended town of Dinant.

The Palm Beach County School Board is considering changes in the storage tank systems at various district locations to comply with federal, state and county regulations. The proposed alterations would cost about $283,400, Associate Superintendent of Administration Henry Boekhoff said. "There has been much concern about the underground drinking water and underground tank spills in Florida," Boekhoffsaid. "The purpose of the changes will be to protect damage to the environment." Deputy Superintendent James G. Daniels said the problems with the tanks must be taken care of right away.

Harley-Davidson is recalling almost 111,600 touring motorcycles after tests showed the fuel tank could leak from damage in a severe crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. Fuel leaks can cause fires. The action involves 21 types of 2009 and 2010 model year touring, custom and trike vehicles. No injuries or deaths have been reported from the defect. Harley-Davidson dealers will install braces, free of charge, beginning this month to strengthen the gas tank mounting.

A 500-gallon liquid propane tank on Tuesday exploded on the back of a tractor at a suburban Lake Worth farm, prompting police to evacuate nearby homes. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire before it could spread. The only injury was to a farmer whose hair was singed. The blast occurred at 7:30 a.m. at Mecca Farms, 5707 Lantana Road, according to Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue. Homes in the Woodland Creek and Country Woods communities were evacuated, and Lantana Road was closed as a precaution because firefighters were afraid the tractor's gas tank would ignite.

Pompano Beach A man was seriously burned at a warehouse on Wednesday after a tank of fuel exploded, fire rescue officials said. About 5 p.m., a loud explosion from a tank the size of a truck flashed at Fast Dry Corp., 1400 NW 13th Ave., severely burning a man in his 30s, said Sandra King, Pompano Beach Fire Rescue spokeswoman. The man was burned on his face and arms and was hit on the head by an object likely hurled in the explosion. He was taken to North Broward Medical Center in critical condition.